Pull drive or not?

superbenk

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Oct 27, 2008
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Just bought this 2008 Four Winns H200 last fall from a broker who was the original dealer & service point for the life of the boat (I have all records from the dealer). Boat had 17.5 hrs on it when purchased, 22 hrs now. We only took it out once last fall before winterizing. Out drive only had 1.5 hrs on it because it was replaced the previous winter after the original drive was stolen along with a number of others while in winter storage (ouch for the dealership!). Work order indicates the new drive installed & all bellows inspected at the time without any issues whatsoever. Engine alignment was checked & fine. I checked drive oil by draining a tiny bit last fall then topping off the remote monitor reservoir. Everything looked really clean (clear blue gear lube drained out of the bottom of the drive).


I'm wondering if I really need to pull the drive this spring or if it should be fine until I winterize in the fall? I've never done it on a Merc & would just assume not waste practically unused oil now nor do I want to get into a project just as the season starts because of my inexperience. I'm thinking just pump a few pumps of gimble grease into the zerks, lube the prop shaft & go boating for the summer. I'll do the full maint. in the fall when I winterize again (already have the alignment bar & gasket kit). That seam reasonable considering the history?
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Pull drive or not?

Just bought this 2008 Four Winns H200 last fall from a broker who was the original dealer & service point for the life of the boat (I have all records from the dealer). Boat had 17.5 hrs on it when purchased, 22 hrs now. We only took it out once last fall before winterizing. Out drive only had 1.5 hrs on it because it was replaced the previous winter after the original drive was stolen along with a number of others while in winter storage (ouch for the dealership!). Work order indicates the new drive installed & all bellows inspected at the time without any issues whatsoever. Engine alignment was checked & fine. I checked drive oil by draining a tiny bit last fall then topping off the remote monitor reservoir. Everything looked really clean (clear blue gear lube drained out of the bottom of the drive).


I'm wondering if I really need to pull the drive this spring or if it should be fine until I winterize in the fall? I've never done it on a Merc & would just assume not waste practically unused oil now nor do I want to get into a project just as the season starts because of my inexperience. I'm thinking just pump a few pumps of gimble grease into the zerks, lube the prop shaft & go boating for the summer. I'll do the full maint. in the fall when I winterize again (already have the alignment bar & gasket kit). That seem reasonable considering the history?

Sounds pretty reasonable to me...

Chris........
BTW, you don't loose any oil by removing the drive. It all stays in there... ;)
 

superbenk

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Oct 27, 2008
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2,022
Re: Pull drive or not?

Well, I found trailer problems that keep me land-locked for a bit so I went ahead and yanked the drive. Surprisingly simple! Everything looks clean though I saw some spots of rust (I think) on the shaft. Couldn't find any signs of water in the bellows though. Could it have been leftover from when they swapped the drive (ie, some water puddles in the bellows when the drive was off & got left in there)? Gimble was smooth. Didn't get a chance to check alignment yet.

Question I had: what's the best way to drain the remote monitor reservoir or do I need to bother? It almost looks like there's a check valve at the bell housing to keep it from draining out. I separated the house in the engine compartment but it's just dribbling really slowly out of the reservoir. Makes me wonder if I even needed to bother?
 

alldodge

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Re: Pull drive or not?

Well, I found trailer problems that keep me land-locked for a bit so I went ahead and yanked the drive. Surprisingly simple! Everything looks clean though I saw some spots of rust (I think) on the shaft. Couldn't find any signs of water in the bellows though. Could it have been leftover from when they swapped the drive (ie, some water puddles in the bellows when the drive was off & got left in there)? Gimble was smooth. Didn't get a chance to check alignment yet.

Question I had: what's the best way to drain the remote monitor reservoir or do I need to bother? It almost looks like there's a check valve at the bell housing to keep it from draining out. I separated the house in the engine compartment but it's just dribbling really slowly out of the reservoir. Makes me wonder if I even needed to bother?

Don't bother with draining the remote, no need as achris mentioned. Only reason to ever drain in is if there is a drive melt down or major problem. I had to flush mine out only after the drive bearings started coming apart.

Go boating and have some fun. There will be a lot of time on your future to work on it :rolleyes:
 

superbenk

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Oct 27, 2008
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2,022
Re: Pull drive or not?

Don't bother with draining the remote, no need as achris mentioned. Only reason to ever drain in is if there is a drive melt down or major problem. I had to flush mine out only after the drive bearings started coming apart.

Go boating and have some fun. There will be a lot of time on your future to work on it :rolleyes:

Too late. It's dribbling away under the cover for the night. I won't do that again.

Speaking of the remote reservoir, mine leaks from the low-fluid sensor at the bottom of the bottle. Is there any easy way to fix that or do I have to buy a whole new reservoir? Could I put some RTV in around the wires or something?
 

alldodge

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Re: Pull drive or not?

Too late. It's dribbling away under the cover for the night. I won't do that again.

Speaking of the remote reservoir, mine leaks from the low-fluid sensor at the bottom of the bottle. Is there any easy way to fix that or do I have to buy a whole new reservoir? Could I put some RTV in around the wires or something?

If there is an actual crack you could try some plastic cement and it does work. The ones that work well have a primer and cement but I would replace the bottle. Many appear to leak from the region you mention but later find it is from the hose fitting, look close. Take the bottle off and put some diesel fuel or WD40 in it and make sure it's leaking from where you think
 

cr2k

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Mar 19, 2009
Messages
3,730
Re: Pull drive or not?

I usually use a small pair of needle nose vise grips to pinch the hose so it won't drip, just don't forget to take them back off.
 
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